Building Joy and Excitement

Your life, right now, what brings you excitement? It’s easy to slip into a routine where excitement escapes us and we settle, or we fail to celebrate things that are exciting moments and let them pass by.

When we read about Jesus we notice that he was exciting to connect with. Everywhere he went excitement followed. One day Jesus is purposefully walking on the lakeshore and calls out to Simon and Andrea, then John and James (Matt. 4) saying, “drop everything and follow me.” They do in an seeming instant. Imagine leaving a good livelihood, all the money you put into boats and nets on whim, to follow the great expectation and excitement with the new rabbi. I want this excitement.

I want to kind of excitement of a Jesus party,a party for the ages. A wedding that’s been going on for days, and just as it’s starting to slow down, Jesus turns water into fine wine and the party continues. I want to live this kind of excitement (less the groggy morning after).

I want the excitement connected with that early church. Despite facing persecution, they gathered and prayed expectantly believing that something miraculous would happen in their midst. That their pursuit of embodying the character of love, justice, beauty, and hope, would lead to exciting transformation in people who first encounter the Gospel. That’s excitement. The church in itself were agents of preview the coming Kingdom. They were agents of excitement! I want this excitement.

God’s exciting! And the excitement of the unfolding kingdom of God is in our midst can impact our lives. Does it? Sometimes we get hung up on routine and think there’s nothing exciting about our lives. Maybe that’s true. Maybe the attention we could put into excitement we replace with too much Netflix. Maybe there’s also a piece where we aren’t claiming exciting things as such because we’re caught in a bit of a fog….

One way to lift that fog is to realize we’re in the midst of excitement even within our own community.

Our own church is filled with excitement. When we notice our kids growing older, that’s exciting! Moving into a new home, new opportunities with neighbours, new groups to gather with friends over meals. These are all exciting things to cherish.

Jesus is on the move and the wake of the Kingdom is exciting–have you seen it?

Maybe it’s time for us to make a choice: Either create excitement where this none, or join excitement already unfolding.

Stop and think for a moment: your life, right now, what brings you excitement?